Many credit card issuers offer reward programs to provide an incentive for account holders to use a credit/debit card associated with the rewards program. Individuals often carry different cards to participate in a variety of different rewards programs. A typical program awards points based on the amount and/or type of purchases made using the card. Depending on the purchase, an individual may select the appropriate card with the greatest reward opportunity associated with that particular purchase.
In addition to carrying multiple cards as an individual, individuals can share ownership of credit card accounts with other members of their family or by operation of a contractual or other relationship (e.g., an employer-employee relationship). For example, a husband and wife, a parent and child, employees, etc. may share cards. Thus, if the accounts are shared among individuals, as noted above, the reward points may accrue on a shared basis. However, if the accounts are held individually, then the reward points accrue to the individual account holders as card issuers do not provide a mechanism by which unrelated individuals may share rewards points or jointly participate in a rewards program.